The Vienna Capitals are number one in the quarter-finals of the Erste Bank Ice Hockey League. The Caps secured themselves the right to choose their opponent for the first knockout round with a 5-1 win against Innsbruck on Sunday in the last intermediate round. The quarter-finals will be played on Sunday evening and the “best of seven”series will start on Friday.
The Caps took first place ahead of the Salzburg team. The Red Bull scored a point in the 3-2 victory after a penalty shoot-out against KAC, which gave the Viennese the chance to pass. Salzburg secured a place in the next Champions Hockey League (CHL). The Black Wings Linz, who were also still in the race before the final lap, lost 3-2 at home against Medvescak Zagreb, lost the chance to take first place and the CHL ticket.
In the qualifying round, HCB Südtirol won the remote duel with Fehervar for the last quarter-finals ticket. The Bolzano team took second place in the standings with a 4:3 after a penalty-shooting over Znojmo. The Hungarians did not benefit from a 2-1 win at the Graz 99ers. Dornbirn had already been victorious in the lower intermediate round before the 5:1 victory over the VSV and was thus a quarter-finalist. For the teams from Villach and Graz the season is over.
In Vienna, the game was practically over after a good twelve minutes, when the clear superior caps led 3:0. In the one-sided match Jerry Pollastrone stood out with three goals.
In Salzburg, team striker Raphael Herburger was the match winner with his converted penalty. Salzburg has won all six season duels with the KAC, but the runner-up from Klagenfurt also has a home advantage in the quarter-finals. Prior to the match, KAC announced the extension of the contract with team goalkeeper David Madlener until 2020.
The Linz team would have needed marksmen’s help and three points to get first place. Both failed to materialize. The Black Wings came after a 3-0 deficit to 2-3, but a happy end did not succeed.